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Roth Koria
Roth Koria is the most populous city in Erivale. The city has approximately 67,206 residents. Roth Koria is also the seat of the Delmorian Kingdom, and is the home of King Basitor IV. Roth Koria was founded by the nephelam wizard of the same name in 42 AR after he journeyed from New Tristram in search of a more peaceful land. Initially the settlement consisted only of Koria and his students, but his death in 67 AR brought hundreds of mourners from around the land seeking to pay tribute to the man who had saved all of humanity from the Prime Evil. Many chose to stay in the region, admiring its serene quality. As adventurers journeyed from Golarion to the west, many stopped in the settlement and chose to stay. Roth Koria also boasts one of the most elaborate sewer systems in all the lands. Unlike other cities, Roth Koria has gone to great pains to separate waste water from drinking water, and even employs a filtering process for drinking water. The academic John Snow of the University of Roth Koria credits this effort for the improved public health in Roth Koria, where residents live an average of 12 years longer than those in other cities in Erivale. Map Modifiers See the Pathfinder PRD for a full explanation of settlement modifiers. Corruption Roth Koria is notorious for its south side slums, a safe haven for theives, rogues, and cutthroats. Organized crime controls major parts of the city, along with a few politicians, judges, and city watchmen. Bluff checks made against city officials or guards susceptible to corruption recieve a +4 bonus, as do stealth checks made in certain regions of the city. Crime Crime is a fact of life in some regions of Roth Koria. The Agora is infamous for pickpocketing, and the city's alleyways see frequent muggings. Those wandering the streets of Roth Koria face the risk of a random encounter. In some areas, Sleight of Hand checks to pick pocketers recieve a +4 bonus, as do sense motive checks to avoid being bluffed. Economy Roth Koria has a robust and prosperous economy. Merchants flock from every part of the world hoping to become rich selling their wares in Roth Koria's famous Agora. The city is the chief producer of manufactured goods in the region, relying on a large and productive working class. Compared to most cities, few in Roth Koria struggle to feed their families, but the wealth inequality is readily apparent. Roughly one-quarter of the city population fills half of the city's land, and holds two-thirds of its wealth. All craft, perform, and profession checks to make money recieve a +7 bonus. ''The Agora'' Near the center of town is large open marketplace, where anyone is able to set up a table or shop for a small fee. On its busiest days, the Agora sees more than a thousand merchants, both local and foreign, set up shop to serve as many as 20,000 shoppers. Just about everything you can imagine is available in the Agora, either for immediate sale or through special request. Finding items in the Agora works as follows: Players can search for up to 4 items per hour in the Agora. The first item takes 30 minutes to search for, the second an additional 15 minutes, and then 10 minutes and 5 minutes. For each item a player is looking for, they must roll a d20 and add Knowledge Local if they have it. When shopping in a group, finding items takes twice as long, but each player can add the group's highest Knowledge Local modifier +2. If a player fails to find the item, they may try again in 1 week. If a player is searching for an item already found by another player, they get a +5 bonus to their check to find another one. If a player is searching for an item that went unfound, they take a -5 penalty to try and find it themselves. The following table describes the DC check for finding items based on the PRD value of those items. While the check to find an item is based on its PRD values, the actual sale price of the item varies. The base price of an item starts at 130% of PRD value, but a diplomacy/intimidate check lowers the price by the value of the roll in percentage points. So a roll of 12 with a modifier of 6 reduces the price by 18 percentage points, from 130% to 112% (rounded to the nearest copper). Intimidate checks get an additional +5 bonus. No other modifiers apply to this roll (e.g. the Society or Lore bonuses). Diplomacy checks can reduce the price to a minimum of 100% of PRD value, while Intimidate checks can reduce it to a minimum price of 90% of PRD value. The merchant community has a memory, however. The table below deplays the permanent bonuses and penalties based on the roll (absent any bonuses). These bonuses work as a "reputation score", and they apply to both diplomacy and intimidate checks made in the future, regardless of what skill was used previously. Law Despite a King focused on law and order, Roth Koria is only barely classified as a neutral city. City watchman are frequently and easily bribed, as are the judges and baristers. Diplomacy checks made to call on the city guard recieve a +1 bonus. Lore The people of Roth Koria love to gossip, and the streets are often abuzz with rumors and tall tales. Gathering information in the city recieves a +4 bonus. A few of the most colorful tales are described below. The Bugbear Recently there have been a series of sightings of a vigilante known as The Bugbear. About a year ago the city guard began finding crime scenes where the criminals had been tied up and left for the guard to arrest. Eyewitnesses claim that a Bugbear-like creature had foiled the criminals in progress, disabling them and tying them up. While there is no direct evidence of such a creature, the city guard as asked citizens to be wary of such an individual, and to call for the city guard should he be sighted. The Dragon's Nest The Dragon's Nest is a secret society at the University of Roth Koria students. Mayor San, Therio Drake, John Snow, and several of the cities nobleman are alumni. The Nest has a centuries old history at the school, though few know of its purpose. Rumors are that the members meet in the tunnels beneath the campus. The Kraken The beach is not a popular destination for Roth Korians, and most will tell you it is because of the Kracken. Time has made it impossible to tell the truth from the tall tales, but legend has it that a Kraken roams just off the shores beyond the drop-off into deeper seas. There are many tales of ships lost at sea, and those who went out for a swim never to be heard from again. Though they would be embarrassed to admit it, residents along the northern shoreline constructed a large mithral net at great expense to keep anything too large away from their shores. And to alleviate the concerns of merchant ships, King Basitor has placed a dozen warships in the surrounding waters, pledging to aid any ship attacked by the beast. Society A strong economy has blessed many Roth Korians with ample leisure time. Seldom does a night pass in Roth Koria without a large party at an estate on the North Side. Nor is it common for the sun to rise on empty streets on the South Side, where residents enjoy communal bonfires, drinking, and song. Despite its seedy underbelly, Roth Koria is known for its friendly residents, and it attracts many tourists each year. Because of its size, it is rather easy to blend in with any group in Roth Koria, and disguise checks recieve a +7 bonus, as do diplomacy checks to alter the attitude of any non-government official. Politics As the city of Roth Koria grew too large, the crown decided to create a local government. Initially, this government was composed of a city manager appointed by the King and some staff. In 4646 AR, King Basitor II responded to petitions by citizens regarding the corruption of this local government by allowing the citizens to choose their own leaders. Basitor II remarked, "If they should be so ungrateful with my choice, the choice of a King, then let them do it themselves and see how it works out." In his memoirs, Basitor II wrote that he thought granting the petitioners request would serve more as a punishment than a reward, and offered countless examples of corruption among elected officials. His son, Basitor III, extolled the new system, however. After the death of his father and his ascention to the throne, he expanded the democratic power of citizens, allowing all Roth Korian residents to vote, and established the City Council and it's corresponding districts. King Basitor IV has largely left this system untouched, but has occassionally spoken out about corruption among elected officials. In 4701, he issued an eddict removing Therio Drake's name from the ballot. Widespread protests ensued, and the seat was won by Drake-endorsed candidate Reddrick Hath. Roth Koria is broken into 52 districts, each representing approximately 1,300 residents of Roth Koria. Each district elects their own Councilman to represent them in the City Council, the city's legislative body. Residents in all of the districts elect the city's mayor. Two political parties dominate Roth Korian politics. The Egalitariats generally govern from a platform promoting commerce, trade, and infrastructure improvements. The members of this party include Mayor Ordal San and a majority of the 52 Councilman. The Hart Party sees most of its support from the working poor. Their platform includes unemployment benefits, expansion of the city watch, and property taxes. Perhaps the most controversial issue of the day is "bimetalism". Many scholars have argued that the fixed exchange rate between gold and silver creates unnessecary volitility in commerce. Unexpected changes in prices often leave lenders and borrowers unable to either recoup or repay their loans. The large increase in the supply of gold in the past led to fairly consistent and predictable inflation. According to the scholar Milton Maynard Fisher, the reduction in the supply of money, and its exportation to other lands, caused rapid deflation and led to the panic of 4698. Farmers in the outskirts of Roth Koria have been particularly vunderable to this deflation, and many have had to leave their farms, disgraced by debt. Fisher suggests allowing the exchange rate between gold and silver pieces to float. Currency holders would then have an incentive to hang on to which ever metal was the most deflationary, as its value would rise as prices fell. Thus, the economy would function on whichever currency was the most inflationary. Fisher claims this would reduce the volatility of marketplace prices, and calm the economy when it is threatened by panic. Neither party has claimed this issue, but the Egalitarians, who recieve more support from farmers than do the Harts, have been more favorable towards the policy. Mayor San has put together a group to investigate the issue, and has spoken to King Basitor, who ultimately holds the authority on the matter. Demographics Infrastructure The Gold Era saw many investments made into Roth Koria's infrastructure. Most of its roads are paved with stone, and advancements in construction have allowed its buildings to reach unrivaled heights of up to 12 stories. Beneath the city is a labyrinth of aqueducts and sewers. Wealthy residents have access to these lines directly, while those is poorer areas have communal wells and waste depositories. Drinking water is siphoned off of the Yelnar River, which runs through the city and runs through a filtering device endowed with the spell Purify Food and Drink. Notable Residents King Basitor IV - King of Delmoria, lives in the royal palace along the western coast of the city. Mayor Ordal San - Elected by the city at-large. Resident of the Kiplin District on the North Side of the city. Mili Cordress - Widow of the late timer magnate Arker Cordress. Lives in the Mangnag District. John Snow - Dean of the University of Roth Koria, scientist, and inventor. Son of Meckard Snow, who designed the city's aqueduct and sewer system. Therio Drake - The self proclaimed "Mayor of the South Side" and political rival of Ordal San. Rumored to have connections to The Syndicate. Madam Kerofisk - A wealthy actress and benefactress of the arts. The Jester - A Rogue criminal and terrorist. Councilman Reddrick Hath - Councilman for much of the most crime laden areas of the south side, rumored to be the puppet of Therio Drake.